AIR Spotlight: Spouses of H-1B Visa Holders Allowed to Work in America

AIR Spotlight is an insightful program featured daily on the All India Radio News on air. In this program, many eminent panellists discuss issues of importance which can be quite helpful in IAS exam preparation.

This article is about the discussion on: Spouses of H-1B Visa Holders Allowed to Work in America.

Participants: 

1. Dr. Harsh V. Pant, Strategic Analyst and Vice President, Studies and Foreign Policy at Observer Research Foundation
2. Arjun J. Chaudhary, AIR correspondent

Context:  US court dismisses lawsuit challenging work authorization of H-1B spouses.

Introduction:

• The U.S. court judgment has allowed the spouses of H-1B Visa holders in the tech sector to work in the country.
  • The H-1B visa is for an individual in occupations that require highly specialized knowledge and a bachelor’s degree or higher in the specific specialty or its equivalent.
• H-1B visa is a very important category as the U.S. tech sector has expanded significantly in the last few decades and has hired employees from abroad (especially India and China).

Details about the case:

• The lawsuit was filed by Save Jobs USA. They approached the court to dismiss the regulation that gave employment authorization cards to spouses of certain categories of H-1B visa holders.
• The organizations like Save Jobs USA have come up in the country to protect the rights of American citizens for employment opportunities.
• The lawsuit was opposed by the companies like Microsoft, Apple, Google, etc as they acquire talent from different countries.
• The decision was logical as it would help in sustaining the immigrant families.
• The judgment benefits companies at multiple levels as hiring people from abroad allows them to cut their overall costs, and have a production structure/cycle that continues to generate profit for them in long term.

Significance of the judgment:

• The tech sector plays a very important role in the American economy. H-1B visa allows these companies to hire the best talent from across the globe. 
• The lack of domestic talent for the specialized categories is addressed through the H-1B visa category.
• H-1B sits at the heart of the American tech space for many reasons like cost efficiency, attracting the best talent, etc.
• It will have a significant impact on the Indian diaspora as thousands of work authorizations have been issued to the spouses of H-1B workers.
• It will create a situation where workers from abroad can sustain themselves in the American economy where the cost of living has been rising. This implies that it will ease the economic burden of families.
• It will allow the workers to live a more peaceful and contended life with their families.
• If the judgment would not have been favorable it would have forced the workers to relocate to their country of origin.

Associated Concerns:

• The issue has become politically contentious as the employment opportunities for Americans are broadly dwindling.
• There are demands for reforms and American citizens are demanding more preferences in comparison to immigrants. There are demands to protect employment opportunities for naturalized citizens of the country.
• There is a broader politico-economic context that has gained traction after it was highlighted by Mr. Donald Trump. 
• The rights of H-1B visas are quite restrictive in nature and primarily cater to US tech companies. For instance, workers are not allowed to move from one company to another and are expected to go back to their source countries after quitting the job.
• American citizens are demanding a comprehensive overhaul of the immigration policy for greater transparency on how foreigners are recruited.
• Moreover, there are demands to outsource only low-end jobs instead of high-spectrum jobs.
• It is speculated that in the coming years, H-1B regulation will be tightened as the American economy is going through a difficult phase due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war.
• The inflationary pressure on the common citizens has increased to a great extent.
• The companies have started laying off their employees and these individuals from abroad are targeted first.
• It should be noted that if the environment is not conducive to a sustainable lifestyle then the best of the talents will avoid relocating to the country.

Conclusion:

• Though dismissed for now, it remains to be seen whether the case will be appealed in higher courts or not.
• There are speculations that companies will face enormous pressure.
• The decision will have an impact on the production structure and supply chain in the future.

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